]]>Boxing Legend Roy Jones Junior Hits UFC FIGHT PASShttp://mmacs.net/boxing-legend-roy-jones-junior-hits-ufc-fight-pass/
Sat, 27 Jan 2018 01:00:08 +0000http://mmacs.net/boxing-legend-roy-jones-junior-hits-ufc-fight-pass/**This post was automatically retrieved from the UFC.com RSS Feed** This is the original article: http://www.ufc.com/news/Boxing-Legend-Roy-Jones-Junior-Hits-UFC-FIGHT-PASS **This post was automatically retrieved from the UFC.com RSS Feed** Las Vegas – One of the greatest boxers of all time – Roy Jones Junior – makes his final walk to the ring February 8 at the Bay Center […]

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Las Vegas – One of the greatest boxers of all time – Roy Jones Junior – makes his final walk to the ring February 8 at the Bay Center in Pensacola, Florida, live and exclusively on UFC FIGHT PASS, the UFC’s digital streaming service.

In the last fight of a Hall of Fame career which began three decades ago Jones, 65-9 (47 KOs), will face the aggressive Scott Sigmon, 30-11-1 (16KOs), in a cruiserweight main event. The card features both boxing and mixed martial arts bouts and is presented by Jones’s own organization, Square Ring Promotions.

The action gets underway on FIGHT PASS at 7:30pm ET, with Jones expected in the ring around 10pm ET.

Jones said: “Ya’ll musta forgot I always said that my final fight would be in my hometown of Pensacola. I meant it then, and I mean it now. This is where it all began for me, this will be my 75th professional fight, and it will be my last one. I have been friends with Dana White for years and am so excited for UFC FIGHT PASS to be streaming this event.”

UFC President Dana White added: “Roy Jones has had a long and distinguished career. We have wanted to work together for a long time and I’m glad that I could bring his final fight to all the fans who have UFC FIGHT PASS.”

Roy Jones’s prodigious talent first caught international attention 30 years ago, when he was awarded the prestigious Val Barker trophy as the most outstanding boxer of the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. Turning professional in May 1989, Jones stormed the middleweight division en route to winning the first of many world titles by beating future legend Bernard Hopkins in May 1993.

A year later, Jones cemented his status as the greatest fighter of his generation when he dominated the fearsome, undefeated James Toney to become the champion of the super-middleweight division. An eight-year reign atop the light heavyweight class followed from 1996 before, on March 1, 2003, Jones jumped all the way up to heavyweight and defeated the vastly bigger John Ruiz for the WBA heavyweight title.

In three decades as a professional boxer, Jones’s hit-list also includes Mike McCallum, Montell Griffin, Virgil Hill, Julio César González, Antonio Tarver and Felix Trinidad.

The five-fight live stream of Square Rings’ Island Fights 46 event, will also feature European boxing sensation Ikram Kerwat, who has five knockouts in eight professional wins, plus 25-year-old prodigy Mike Davis. A former New York State wrestling champion and BJJ purple belt under Marcelo Garcia, Davis has a combined combat sport record – MMA and boxing – of 22 fights, 22 wins and 22 stoppages. He fights Montrel James in a MMA lightweight fight.

The event marks the first time UFC FIGHT PASS has added boxing to its live fight offering. FIGHT PASS already live streams weekly action from UFC, MMA organizations from around the world, kickboxing, Muay Thai and submission grappling. Plus subscribers have VOD access to over 16,000 historical fights from 37 promotions, Original content, documentaries and the UFC’s TV archive.

]]>Rinaldi revitalized by training, fighting at homehttp://mmacs.net/rinaldi-revitalized-by-training-fighting-at-home/
Sat, 27 Jan 2018 01:00:07 +0000http://mmacs.net/rinaldi-revitalized-by-training-fighting-at-home/**This post was automatically retrieved from the UFC.com RSS Feed** This is the original article: http://www.ufc.com/news/Rinaldi-revitalized-by-training-fighting-at-home By Thomas Gerbasi **This post was automatically retrieved from the UFC.com RSS Feed** [embedded content]In mixed martial arts, leaving home is the usual route for those ambitious souls who don’t live in the usual hubs for the sport. Charlotte’s […]

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This is the original article:http://www.ufc.com/news/Rinaldi-revitalized-by-training-fighting-at-home
By Thomas Gerbasi
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[embedded content]In mixed martial arts, leaving home is the usual route for those ambitious souls who don’t live in the usual hubs for the sport. Charlotte’s Jordan Rinaldi was one of those fighters, and he took that usual route, making the trip out west to train in Las Vegas for two years.

But even in the “Fight Capital of the World,” something was missing.

“When I went to Vegas to train, I went there for two years and I got a lot better technically, but there was something with my emotional state of being where I didn’t perform as well,” he said.

So he came home. Today, he’s a UFC fighter, one day away from fighting in Charlotte on a FOX main card against Gregor Gillespie. Good call, Mr. Rinaldi.

“Just the energy that I have around my family and friends and being able to still live a normal life where I’m not halfway across the country training and not able to see them, it really helps a lot. I also have a set foundation in my church and with my wife, and when I got back home and was with my wife and my family and friends, it really honed in that I’m meant to be more than just a local legend. I’m meant to be one of the best in the world, and that’s my job. It really revitalized me. There’s something about this city that I love. It’s a beautiful, wonderful city, I grew up here and it gives me a great energy being around here.”

Those stories are among the best in any sport – the local kid does good and gets to perform in front of his family and friends in the city he calls home. But if Rinaldi has learned anything in a pro career that began in 2010, it’s that one fight can’t be given more weight than another. They’re all important, and if you lose sight of that, you’re a sitting duck for a hungry opponent. So while it’s nice to fight in North Carolina, where he holds a 4-1 record, it could be anywhere once the Octagon gate shuts.

“This is my job and this is what I do for a living, so if I look past it (this fight) or look at it differently than anything else, then I’m gonna be setting myself up for failure,” he said. “So it is just my next fight and that way I’m always approaching the fights the same way, with the same amount of intensity, the same amount of energy, without putting any kind of emotion into it because once you inject emotion into work or anything like that, that’s when problems start happening. So I actually like looking at it much more surgically. I need to be as detached from it emotionally as possible.”

But beyond the setting, this fight is a pivotal one for the 30-year-old lightweight, who has seen a lot while building a 13-5 pro slate. Already the owner of wins over UFC vets Dennis Bermudez, Diego Saraiva and Clay Harvison, Rinaldi – who lost to Joe Proctor in the elimination round of The Ultimate Fighter 15 – has split his two UFC bouts thus far, losing to Abel Trujillo before submitting Alvaro Herrera, and if he can take the “0” from Gillespie’s record, that’s a statement, one that could alter his career trajectory in a positive way.

“This is a huge profile fight, not because of me, but honestly because of Gregor, so the opportunity is huge for me, of course, and I like the fight,” he said. “But my media coverage hasn’t been that big because I’m only 1-1 in the UFC. I beat somebody I was supposed to beat in my last fight, and now, I expect after I win this fight that my profile might be blown up a little bit bigger.”

That’s just fine with him.

“That’s something you have to embrace in this job,” Rinaldi said. “That’s what we’re paid to do. (UFC President) Dana (White) was talking about us building a brand and that’s something I want to do. It’s just something I haven’t had the opportunity to do because I’m only 1-1 in the UFC. But with this win, I really believe it’s going to catapult me.”

Sounds like everything worked out the way Rinaldi wanted it to after all. UFC contract. FOX main card fight. And a home game.

“I’ve been put in a blessed situation,” he said. “I’ve been fighting a long time, trying to get to the UFC, and now that it’s finally happened, a year and a half after signing a contract with the UFC, I’m fighting in my hometown on the main card. It’s almost divine timing for me, and I think it’s great. I’m just very lucky, honestly.”

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Las Vegas – The highly anticipated 27th season of The Ultimate Fighter&reg; will see UFC® heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic coach opposite light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier. Following the series, which debuts Wednesday, April 18 on FS1, the two will battle for the heavyweight crown during the 7th annual UFC International Fight Week (July 3-7) at UFC 226®: MIOCIC vs. CORMIER at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday, July 7.

The Ultimate Fighter®: Undefeated will also feature a dynamic cast of unbeaten lightweight and featherweight fighters. Each tournament winner will receive a six-figure UFC contract. The season will air for 12 consecutive Wednesdays on FS1, followed by a live finale to be announced at a later date.

Both coaches recently defended their championships at UFC 220 earlier this month in Boston.

Miocic (18-2, fighting out of Independence, Ohio) netted his historic third heavyweight title defense with a dominant decision over dangerous striker Francis Ngannou. The NCAA Division I wrestler and Cleveland Golden Gloves boxing champion has been on a tear since 2015. Going into the bout with Ngannou, the consensus “baddest man on the planet” had earned five consecutive knockout victories against Junior Dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum, Andrei Arlovski and Mark Hunt. Miocic now looks to lead his team to victory before further etching his name in the record books.

Undefeated women’s boxing champion and author Laila Ali joins Jim and Matt in-studio to discuss her new cookbook, “Food For Life”, her past comments about Ronda Rousey, Muhammad Ali, Cyborg reaching out to her for sparring, differences between women’s boxing and women’s MMA, and much more. Later, #8 UFC Middleweight contender Derek Brunson calls in from Charlotte to break down his rematch with Jacare Souza and talks about being a totally different fighter now, Romero vs. Rockhold, getting a BJJ Purple belt from David Branch, and more. Plus, the guys discuss Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Felice Herrig at UFC 223, CM Punk’s Octagon return, and make their picks for UFC On FOX this weekend.

Full EpisodeLaila on possibly sparring with CyborgLaila on the pressure of being Muhammad Ali’s daughterLaila on Ronda RouseyMore Laila on Ronda RouseyLaila on Floyd vs. ConorDerek on the ramifications of a win over JacareDerek is a hundred percent confident on the ground vs. JacareDerek on why his rematch with Jacare doesn’t feel like a rematch

]]>UFC Charlotte – Fight by Fighthttp://mmacs.net/ufc-charlotte-fight-by-fight/
Fri, 26 Jan 2018 03:03:24 +0000http://mmacs.net/ufc-charlotte-fight-by-fight/**This post was automatically retrieved from the UFC.com RSS Feed** This is the original article: http://www.ufc.com/news/UFC-Charlotte-Fight-by-Fight By Thomas Gerbasi **This post was automatically retrieved from the UFC.com RSS Feed** RONALDO “JACARE” SOUZA VS DEREK BRUNSONSaturday’s main event is one of the rare rematches where the first bout really has no bearing on what happens in […]

RONALDO “JACARE” SOUZA VS DEREK BRUNSONSaturday’s main event is one of the rare rematches where the first bout really has no bearing on what happens in the second one, and “Jacare” Souza and Derek Brunson are in agreement there, because both are vastly different fighters than they were when Souza scored a 41-second knockout win in 2012. Now, both have made their mark in the UFC and are in the title race, and Brunson has developed a deadly striking attack to go with his wrestling game. As for Jacare, he’s continued to evolve his standup game, but it’s his ground game that remains one of the most fearsome weapons in the sport. So let’s make it simple: if it goes to the ground, Souza has the edge, if it stays standing, Brunson is in his world. All that’s left is to see who gets their way in Charlotte.

DENNIS BERMUDEZ VS ANDRE FILIDennis Bermudez is 4-4 in his last eight. So is Andre Fili. So why should we be excited about this co-main event? A) Stylistically, this is a can’t miss, with Bermudez’ pressure and Fili’s often frenetic style perfect for each other. B) Both featherweights seem to have figured out why they were have been so erratic in the Octagon. And C) There’s a lot on the line for each fighter, making a winning start to 2018 imperative. Conclusion? I’m in.

JORDAN RINALDI VS GREGOR GILLESPIEGregor Gillespie is shaping up to be a serious threat at 155 pounds, living up to all the hype east coasters had built up around him before his UFC debut. Now 3-0 in the Octagon, the New Yorker travels to Jordan Rinaldi’s backyard for this main card bout, but after a stellar college wrestling career, Gillespie is used to hearing boos. Will he be equally ready for an opponent pumped up to be fighting at home? He’s probably seen that too.

DREW DOBER VS FRANK CAMACHOWhen the Ovince Saint Preux–Ilir Latifi bout got moved, this was the perfect choice for an upgrade to the main card, and I can guarantee that if someone tunes into FOX and sees Dober and Camacho going at it, they’re going to stick around for the whole show. Not to put any added pressure on Camacho, but if I’m not mistaken, Yoshihiro Akiyama is the only fighter in UFC history to win Fight of the Night honors in his first three Octagon bouts, and Camacho can join him in the record books if he can do it again Saturday. Then again, guys like him don’t need any added incentive – they scrap just to scrap, and Dober is of the same mindset. Like I said, this is the perfect way to kick off the main card.

ERIK KOCH VS BOBBY GREENLike Bermudez and Fili, Erik Koch and Bobby Green have been cursed with inconsistency and injuries throughout the years, but hey, “New Year New Me,” so here’s hoping these talented veterans have a healthy year that can see them make their move up the lightweight ladder. In the meantime, they’ve got to fight, and when their offenses are clicking, there’s explosive potential in these two.

MIRSAD BEKTIC VS GODOFREDO PEPEYDarren Elkins last year. Unbeaten and ahead on the scorecards, Bektic got finished in the final round, shocking the MMA world. He has since joined up with the Tristar team in Montreal, and he’s got a statement to make when he faces Pepey, whose aggressive style could either give Bektic some bad memories or leave him open for the more measured attack of the still highly-regarded prospect.

KATLYN CHOOKAGIAN VS MARA ROMERO BORELLAAs noted in my feature yesterday, Katlyn Chookagian will have beaten three members of the flyweight top 10 if she gets by Mara Romero Borella on Saturday. That’s a pretty impressive feat if she can pull it off and it should propel her into the title race immediately, but there is the business of getting by Borella, and that will be a challenge if the fight gets to the mat, but on the feet, it’s Chookagian’s world, and you can bet that Mark Henry and company will have her ready to make a splash in her UFC debut at 125 pounds.

RANDA MARKOS VS JULIANA LIMAInteresting clash at 115 pounds between Randa Markos and Juliana Lima and the winner should get some well-deserved time in the spotlight because they’ve both spent their UFC careers fighting killers. Two world title challengers and two world champions have shared the Octagon with Markos and Lima, and that experience can only help them in a fight that both could use after recent losses.

JUSTINE KISH VS JI YEON KIMThe flyweight division has made it a whole new world for “Tweeners” who were too big for strawweight and too small for bantamweight, and that means we’re going to see fighters like Justine Kish and the aforementioned Katlyn Chookagian at their best on fight night. And like Chookagian, who had success at bantamweight, Kish had success at strawweight, so all eyes will be on her to make an immediate impact when she faces Ji Yeon Kim at home in North Carolina.

VINC PICHEL VS JOAQUIM SILVAI don’t know if anyone outside of Vinc Pichel’s camp thought he was going to return from three years away and score a first-round knockout of Damien Brown last June. But he did, and if he can put an end to Joaquim Silva’s perfect UFC run, then he’s got to be knocking on the door of a top 15 ranking. But that’s no easy feat, because Silva is one of Brazil’s top prospects and a fighter who didn’t get to 3-0 in the Octagon by accident. If he can shake off Pichel’s hammers, Silva has the tools to get the job done everywhere.

NIKO PRICE VS GEORGE SULLIVANNiko Price was making a lot of noise as a welterweight prospect before an October loss to Vicente Luque slowed the momentum down, but he’s still one of the most promising up and comers at 170 pounds, and he’ll get a chance to prove it against returning New Jersey vet George Sullivan, a power hitter who is a bit of a mystery heading into Saturday’s bout after two years on the shelf.

AUSTIN ARNETT VS CORY SANDHAGENA late add to Saturday’s show, featherweights Austin Arnett and Cory Sandhagen provide a compelling reason to tune in early. UFC fans got an initial look at Arnett in his exciting battle with Brandon Davis on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series, and as a member of the Sikjitsu squad, it’s a prerequisite that he will bring the heat when the bell rings. Sandhagen comes from a solid crew in Colorado himself, and as a former kickboxing champ with a brown belt in jiu-jitsu, this one may travel all over the Octagon over the course of 15 minutes or less.

]]>Camacho embraces the pressurehttp://mmacs.net/camacho-embraces-the-pressure/
Fri, 26 Jan 2018 03:03:23 +0000http://mmacs.net/camacho-embraces-the-pressure/**This post was automatically retrieved from the UFC.com RSS Feed** This is the original article: http://www.ufc.com/news/Camacho-embraces-the-pressure By Thomas Gerbasi **This post was automatically retrieved from the UFC.com RSS Feed** If you’ve ever watched Frank Camacho fight, you may laugh when you read this, but the welterweight from Saipan is sincere when he says, “I hate […]

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This is the original article:http://www.ufc.com/news/Camacho-embraces-the-pressure
By Thomas Gerbasi
**This post was automatically retrieved from the UFC.com RSS Feed**If you’ve ever watched Frank Camacho fight, you may laugh when you read this, but the welterweight from Saipan is sincere when he says, “I hate confrontation.”

And yeah, he laughed too, knowing that someone who has earned Fight of the Night awards for his first two thrilling brawls with Jingliang Li and Damien Brown isn’t going to convince too many people that he’s the shy and retiring type when he’s got gloves on and a gumshield in his mouth.

“I’m in a sport where everything is about confrontation, and maybe that’s my outlet,” he said. “It’s so weird.”

Outside the Octagon, though, the 28-year-old is a laid-back and affable husband and father who just likes to get into fistfights every few months. A lot of people think that’s something for them, but only the ones who have dedicated their lives to the craft of mixed martial arts can do it for a living. And just a few years ago, Camacho wondered if that was still a viable goal.

“In 2014 and 2015 I was on the brink of just throwing in the towel and just hanging up the gloves,” he said. “But my wife and I stuck at it and kept at it, and now, it’s really putting a stamp on it that this is what I’m supposed to do. I’m meant to fight. This is what I’ve always wanted to do and this is what I’m supposed to do.”

That doesn’t mean his mom has to like it. And she doesn’t, only getting to one of Camacho’s early bouts…briefly.

“She attempted to watch a fight live – my second fight, I was only 16,” he said. “But when the fight was about to start, she ran outside and was yelling at the ambulance and fire crew, telling them they better be ready and better not eat or go anywhere.”

Camacho laughs, knowing that it’s a mother’s love and concern that keeps her away from the arena but still invested in her son’s fights.

“She rounds up all the aunts, and they go to church and they say prayers for me,” Camacho said. “But my mom would never watch a fight.”

If we’re talking about seeing a son grit his teeth and put himself through a grueling 15-minute war like Camacho has done with Li and Brown, well maybe that’s a good call. But for the rest of us that love the fight game, “The Crank” has turned into must-see TV in the space of two fights.

“It’s really nice and it’s so cool for the UFC and the fans to really appreciate the heart and the passion I put into the game and into every fight,” said Camacho, a pro since 2005 who lost a close decision to Li last June before evening his UFC slate with a split decision victory over Brown in November. It was an emotional victory for a fighter who has proved that leaving it all in the Octagon isn’t a snappy soundbite, but his mantra, and we saw it against the tough Aussie.

“Briefly at the end of the second, we kind of stopped and I don’t know why I growled at him, but it was kind of like we were getting there,” he laughs. “And then the round ended. It happened again in the third, we were about 30 seconds out and I was a little winded at the end of the round, but I kept coming forward because the game plan was to keep getting in his face and this guy was not shooting and not trying to clinch – he was just trying to throw, and I was like, ‘all right.’ We dug down deep and just kept going.”

The excitement level in Camacho’s voice rises when he talks about the art of the battle, and the way he sees it, he’s just carrying on what his coach has told him, that “Pressure is a privilege, so you have to embrace it.”

Saturday, Camacho will embrace it once again. Sure, he would like to get a finish and leave the judges out of the equation, but the odds are good that once he gets hit by Dober, it will be a signal for him to go back into the trenches and throw. That’s good enough for him, because as cliché as it sounds, Camacho is living the dream.

“On a personal, regular life level, now I’m able to do what I love and do it full-time,” he said. “On a career, martial arts level, I’ve learned so much as a martial artist and I can’t wait to implement it for this next fight. I’m really enjoying the ride and the opportunity and living it by the day.”

]]>Fight Night Charlotte: Derek Brunson – I Will Be the Victorhttp://mmacs.net/fight-night-charlotte-derek-brunson-i-will-be-the-victor/
Fri, 26 Jan 2018 02:07:25 +0000http://mmacs.net/fight-night-charlotte-derek-brunson-i-will-be-the-victor/Derek Brunson is looking for revenge against Jacare Souza after being defeated by Souza back in 2012. Don’t miss Brunson and Souza square off in the main event of Fight Night Charlotte on Saturday live on FOX. Subscribe to get all the latest UFC content: http://bit.ly/2uJRzRR Experience UFC live with UFC FIGHT PASS, the digital […]

Derek Brunson is looking for revenge against Jacare Souza after being defeated by Souza back in 2012. Don’t miss Brunson and Souza square off in the main event of Fight Night Charlotte on Saturday live on FOX.

Subscribe to get all the latest UFC content: http://bit.ly/2uJRzRR

Experience UFC live with UFC FIGHT PASS, the digital subscription service of the UFC. To start your 7-day free trial, visit http://www.ufc.tv/packages

]]>Fight Night Charlotte: Open Workout Recaphttp://mmacs.net/fight-night-charlotte-open-workout-recap/
Fri, 26 Jan 2018 00:08:52 +0000http://mmacs.net/fight-night-charlotte-open-workout-recap/Check out the recap of the open workout from Charlotte featuring Jacare Souza and Derek Brunson. Subscribe to get all the latest UFC content: http://bit.ly/2uJRzRR Experience UFC live with UFC FIGHT PASS, the digital subscription service of the UFC. To start your 7-day free trial, visit http://www.ufc.tv/packages To order UFC Pay-Per-Views, visit http://www.ufc.tv/events Connect with […]